Too young to retire but at risk for Covid, older Americans struggle to find work

[marmar]

Too young to retire but at risk for Covid, older Americans struggle to find work
Despite reports of US worker shortages, people who are less than five years from retirement are facing a lack of employment options

Michael Sainato in Florida
Tue 25 Jan 2022 05.00 EST


(Guardian UK) Elaine Simons, a 61-year-old substitute art teacher in the Seattle, Washington area, was on a 10-month contract and hoping to settle into a more permanent role at the school where she was teaching when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the US in March 2020.

Her school shut down for the remainder of the school year, with Simons having to pack up her classroom and learn to navigate the technology necessary to teach remotely. In June 2020, Simons was informed her teaching contract would not be renewed.

Some 5.7 million workers ages 55 or older lost their jobs in the US in March and April 2020, 15% of workers in an age demographic that has also experienced the vast majority of Covid-19 deaths. The unemployment rate for workers ages 65 and older hit a record rate of 7.5% in 2020.

Simons was able to find a summer teaching position but had to file for unemployment assistance before the fall 2020 school year began. Since then, she has switched back and forth between taking periods of substitute teaching jobs whenever they’re available, and reverting to unemployment during periods where she’s been unable to find work. ...........(more)

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jan/25/older-americans-struggle-find-work-covid-retirement

[Doc Sportello]

1. Valuable insight into a demographic that is often dismissed

Ageism is a prejudice that is acceptable to many, including some on this site. This cohort has gotten a double barrel blast in recent years, thanks to having a hard time getting hired thanks to their age, and suffering more due to covid and fear of getting it. Elaine from this snippet is also caring for her elderly mother, like many in that age group.

Thanks for posting.

[crickets]

2. I have a friend going through this right now.

She's well qualified, perfect for some of the jobs she's interviewing for. In more than one case, she's interviewing with companies she'd previously worked for who were looking for people to fill the job she'd done before company layoffs. She'd save them a bundle by not needing much of the training a new hire would require, and she'd be rock solid about not flitting to another position in a couple of years, but they still pass every time. She needs those last five to ten years of income to help her retirement, and it looks as though she's not going to get them.

My friend is also caring for an elderly mother who is in poor health and suffering from dementia, so that adds to the emotional and financial burden. It's so frustrating and sad.

[Doc Sportello]

3. I had a similar experience before fully retiring

I retired from my job at 63 and got my pension but I needed SS to supplement my income, so had to find at least part time work. 30 applications later at everything from professional jobs I was qualified for to menial jobs I would have taken, but not one bite. Finally a job opened up at a place I had worked at 20 years before and where the boss thought highly of me, and he hired me 10 seconds into the call. Otherwise I don't know what would have happened, just like your friend and the people in the story. Now I am fully retired.

Fortunately, my parents have passed and I don't have debt, but I know there are perhaps millions in this age group who are going through this and it is terrifying for them. It is also sad and frustrating in many ways, including the fact that this problem is ignored by most of the media. Props to the Guardian for this and the many others they do highlighting the human toll that others miss.